Dangerous Road

The Beast God Sanctum held sway over a vast territory, most of which was within the undeveloped wilderness. The human territories gradually expanded in all directions over the eons and course of history. A variety of beast arts cultivators and sects were always at the forefront, venturing deep into the lands unknown to fight against demons, beasts, and brave all dangers. They were some of the earliest cultivators as seeking inspiration from beasts was an easy to understand Dao. In fact, there were some that held onto the bloodlines of divine beasts as their source of power.

The undisputed leader of the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent was the Beast God Sanctum. While normal immortal sects usually just had one immortal, the Beast God Sanctum had numerous immortals. It was a true powerhouse, even within the Immortal Association. The current capital, fitting of so many immortals, was established at the edge of the endless wilderness where dangerous beasts roamed. With dangers came rewards as well; crafting materials from beast corpses, spiritual crystals, rare minerals and ores, or even secrets from abandoned ruins. They all could be found if one had enough courage and strength. Only such a location could satisfy the ambitions of the sect.

Over five hundred years ago, three such cultivators braved into deep wilderness, obtained their path to immortality, and founded the Beast God Sanctum. They each had obtained some secret beast Dao and with that in hand, they conquered the surrounding regions and set up their base. Over the years, they all managed to breakthrough once more and reach the Spirit King Realm. One of the founders was in fact the father of He Xinghan, which is why he was so arrogant during his ascending ceremony.

The capital city of such a powerful sect was no less impressive, being the entirety of a massive solitary mountain. All four sides of the mountain were completely covered with buildings and roads and every inch of space was taken over. Chen Wentian and his disciples landed in one of the main hubs within the city and were housed in a large hotel complex for those taking part in the sect competition.

The competition wouldn't start until the next day so he let his disciples have fun and explore the city. The city had a lot of benefits by being so close to the wilderness. It was the front lines of battles between cultivators and monsters. There were many rare items on sale that might be useful for his disciples' cultivation. He gave them a great deal of spending money with the stern instruction to spend it all and not be frugal.

Chen Wentian remained in his hotel room under the pretense of meditating. In reality, he was also curious about the city and wanted to do some covert reconnaissance. When they flew into the vicinity of the capital city, they were escorted by a Spirit Lord Realm immortal of the Beast God Sanctum. His powerful spiritual sense alerted him that the immortal was very distracted and in bad mental shape. He observed the immortal leave afterwards and head straight for the top of the mountain. Looking around at the average citizens of the capital city, there were no commotions and nothing out of the ordinary. However, his intuition told him something was going down.

Chen Wentian activated a special skill that his disciples had never seen before. It allowed a part of his soul to meld into the shadows and become pretty much undetectable. His body would remain in the room and a part of his soul would be injected into a phantom that could travel within the darkness and cracks. It was perfect for reconnaissance.

The buildings on the mountain provided easy cover and he quickly traveled through the city. An average Spirit Lord Realm cultivator would not be able to detect him and only one that specialized in spiritual sense or one of the Spirit King lords could sense him.

There were three castles at the peak of the mountain. They were the headquarters for the three factions of each of the three lords of Beast God Sanctum. Chen Wentian spied around the outskirts of each and he soon got the information he wanted. One of the three lords, a powerful master at the Spirit King Realm had died! This was such a huge deal but the news was being suppressed, he guessed he might be the only outsider that knew.

The lord's title was Immortal Mamba of Shadow. He died in mysterious circumstances while apparently exploring deep within the wilderness. His faction was in shock at the loss and the atmosphere within their headquarters was tense and chilling. It seemed that some of them suspected foul play by the other two factions and their lords. The outward unity of the Beast God Sanctum had been a mere disguise for a very long time. The three lords had a myriad of conflicts with each other over the years.

Chen Wentian silently left, not staying any longer and risk being detected. He didn't know Immortal Mamba of Shadow or his powers but as a Spirit King Realm cultivator, nothing should have been able to easily threaten his life. However, the wilderness was still dangerous and anything was possible.

Everybody who chose to cultivate knows that it is a dangerous road. Bottlenecks existed. Breakthroughs could sometimes be found only by putting one's life on the line. Competition between cultivators was also fierce and deadly. There were many enemies and few friends. Even for powerful cultivators, they could easily lose their lives through accidents or schemes. The death of Immortal Mamba of Shadow would be devastating to his subordinates, but to others it was merely a casualty along the endless, dangerous road. Other immortals wouldn't bat an eye to the news. In fact, the other two factions were probably thinking of how to gobble up the remaining resources. There was sure to be more bloodshed in the near future.

Even if one was always alert, always prepared, always ready to face the danger, there might still come a day. There might still be a day when he, Chen Wentian, also died. What would happen to his disciples then? What would they do?

It was difficult to think about such opaque things. Life was uncertain, even for so called immortals that lived hundreds and thousands of years. Chen Wentian could only live his life day by day. He should live every day without regret, do the things he believed was right, and care for the people that relied on him. He vowed to cherish his disciples and never do anything that would let them down.

Chen Wentian felt a small breakthrough in his soul as he collected his thoughts. He smiled to himself as he silently thanked Immortal Mamba of Shadow.